Fuel tank for vehicles

ABSTRACT

A pressurized fuel tank, disposed transversely over the rear axle of an automobile, is divided by baffles into three compartments. Large apertures in the baffles interconnect the upper portion of the compartments and a pipe extending through the baffles interconnects the lower portion of the compartments. A fuel pump inlet is located in the center compartment adjacent an opening in the pipe. A pressure relief valve discharges from the center compartment adjacent the vehicle centerline. A filler pipe extends through one of the end walls and one of the baffles to discharge adjacent the vehicle centerline. A cap on the filler pipe is provided with a vacuum relief valve. Pressure in the tank is also released during removal of the cap.

United States Patent Robert James Benner Lansing;

Frank W. Huxtable, Jr., Okemos; Joseph H. Jones, East Lansing, all ofMich. 38,967 May 20, 1970 Jan. 1 l, 1972 General Motors CorporationDetroit, Mich.

[72] Inventors [21 Appl. No. 22] Filed [45] Patented [73] Assignee [54]FUEL TANK FOR VEHICLES 4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 137/351,

137/590, 220/86, 280/5 [51] B66f 9/06 [50] Field 01' Search 137/351,

354, 59 0; 2 80/5 A, 512,512, 5 0,5 H; 220/86 R [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 3,251,500 5/1966 Archbold 156/172 X 1,683,0219/1928 Brown... 137/590 X 1,808,801 6/1931 Weil 220/86 X 1,985,20712/1934 Jensen 137/354 X 2,090,197 8/1937 Hass et al.. 220/86 2,389,16811/1945 Snyder 280/5 UX 3,006,358 10/1961 Hildebrandt et a1. 280/5 A3,330,439 7/1967 Moorman 220/86 3,477,611 11/1969 Niles 220/86 3,511,5155/1970 Cline et a1 280/5 Primary ExaminerSamuel Scott Att0rneysJ. L.Carpenter and C. K. Veenstra ABSTRACT: A pressurized fuel tank, disposedtransversely over the rear axle of an automobile, is divided by bafflesinto FUEL TANK FOR VEHICLES This invention provides an automotive fueltank which can retain fuel at pressures above atmospheric and eliminatethe loss of fuel vapor to the atmosphere The details as well as otherobjects and advantages of this invention are shown in the drawings anddiscussed below.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a vehicle taken partially insection to show a pressurized fuel tank mounted over the rear axle;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1 showing theconstruction of the tank;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 illustratingthe disposition of the baffle apertures in the upper portion of the tankand the pipe in the lower portion of the tank;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2 illustratingthe construction of the pressure relief valve;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the filler pipe and cap construction,taken as indicated generally by line 5-5 of FIG. I and FIG. 6 is a viewof the spring which biases the vacuum relief valve in the filler cap.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a fuel tank 10 is clamped by bands 12 tosupporting brackets 14 between the rear wheels 16 over the rear axle(not shown) of a vehicle 18.

As shown in FIG. 2, tank 10 has a generally cylindrical housing 20 withits longitudinal axis extending transversely of the vehicle center line.An outwardly convex end cap 22 closes each end of housing 20 and has anoutwardly extending peripheral rim 24 secured to housing 20. It will benoted that the end caps 22 are disposed on opposite sides of thecenterline of the vehicle and substantially equidistant therefrom.

A pair of lateral surge controlling baffles 26 disposed on oppositesides of the vehicle center line and outwardly convex with respectthereto also have outwardly extending peripheral rims 28 secured tohousing 20. As best illustrated in FIG. 3, each baffle 26 has a largeaperture 30 extending therethrough in the top portion of tank 10 and apair of smaller apertures 32 extending therethrough near the midportionof tank 10. Henceforth the mid and top portions of tank 10 will becollectively referred to as the upper portion of tank 10.

Apertures 30 and 32 provide free fluid communication between the centercompartment 34 and the end compartments 36 and 38 in the upper portionof tank 10. An openended pipe 40 extends through baffles 26 in the lowerportion of tank 10 and has a lateral opening 42 discharging adjacent theinlet sock 44 of an intank fuel pump 46 disposed in center compartment34.

It will be appreciated that a continuous supply of fuel must be disposedadjacent fuel pump inlet sock 44 in all attitudes and during allmaneuvers of the vehicle. When tank 10 is full, liquid fuel may freelyenter center compartment 34 from end compartments 36 and 38 throughbaffle apertures 30 and 32. When only the lower portion of tank 10contains fuel, baffles 26 direct liquid fuel from end compartments 36and 38 through pipe 40 to its lateral opening 42 and assure that liquidfuel is discharged adjacent inlet sock 44 in one construction, a 12 inchdiameter tank was provided with a half-inch diameter pipe located about1.87 inches to the rear of the tank longitudinal axis; the pipe had a0.375 inch diameter lateral hole.

A filler pipe 48 has a corrugated neck 50 extending through one end wall22 and an inner extension 52 extending through opening 30 in one baffle26. Filler pipe 48 terminates at a discharge end 54 adjacent the vehiclecenter line. Discharge end 54 is supported by a bracket 56 and isbeveled to permit easy insertion into tank 10 and bracket 56. A venttube 57 is secured in filler pipe 48. A filler cap 58, described ingreater detail below, closes filler pipe 48.

A pressure relief valve 60 is inserted through an opening in housing 20in the uppermost portion of tank 10 adjacent the vehicle center line. Asshown in FIG. 4, valve 60 has a base 62 which is threaded at 63 forfastening to tank housing 20. A conical valve 64 is biased by a spring65 against a valve seat member 66. A stem 68 on valve 64 extends througha large opening 70 in a cage 72 which is spun around valve seat member66 as at 74 to retain valve 64, spring 65 and valve seat 66 in anintegral unit 75.

A gasket 76 is disposed between valve units 75 and base 62 and a cover78 encloses valve unit 75. The rim 79 of base 62 is staked over andsecures cover 78. A fitting 80 discharges from cover 78.

In operation, valve 64 is biased against seat 66 until a predeterminedpressure in tank 10 is exceeded. Valve 65 is then unseated against thebias of spring 65 and the pressure is relieved through fitting 80. Adischarge hose may be secured to fitting 80 as desired.

As shown in FIG. 5, and adapter member 82, secured within filler neck50, has a rounded sealing lip 84 extending radially outwardly fromfiller neck 50, a portion 86 extending outwardly from sealing lip 84 andprovided with apertures 88, and a securing flange 90 spaced radiallyoutwardly from and surrounding filler neck 50 and extending axially fromthe outer edge of apertured portion 86. It will be noted that securingflange 90 has a thread rolled therein.

Filler cap 58 is formed of a cupped housing 92 with an axially extendingrim 94. A thread rolled in rim 94 mates with the thread rolled insecuring flange 90.

As may be seen in FIG. 1, rim 94 has a plurality of peripherally spacedindentations 96 to assist in gripping the cap.

Referring again to FIG. 5, indentations 96 form shoulders which receivea gasket support member 98. A gasket 100 is supported by member 98, oneside 102 of gasket 100 forming a sealing surface engaging sealing lip84.

Sealing surface I02 is normally held in engagement with sealing lip 84by the cooperating threads on securing flange 90 and cap rim 94. As cap58 is unscrewed for removal from filler pipe 48, sealing surface 102 ofgasket 100 moves away from sealing lip 84. The pressure in tank 10 isthen released through apertures 88 before cap 58 is completely removedfrom filler pipe 48. The length of the thread along cap rim 94determines the time necessary to remove cap 58 from filler pipe 48 andmay be proportioned to assure adequate time for release of all pressurewithin tank 10.

Gasket I00 and gasket support 98 are provided with a central opening104. A stamped sheet metal umbrella-shaped valve member 106 has aperipheral lip I08 engaging sealing surface 102 of gasket I00. Valvemember 106 also has a stem 1 10 which extends through opening 104 and aheaded portion 112 which is riveted over and secured to a spring member114. Spring member 114 has a plurality of fingers 116 which en gagesupport member 98 and bias peripheral lip 108 of valve 106 intoengagement with sealing surface 102 of gasket 100.

When fuel is withdrawn from tank 10 or the temperature of tank 10 islowered, subatmospheric pressure conditions may occur therewithin. Thisvacuum, acting on valve member 106, will draw the sealing lip 108 ofvalve 106 away from sealing surface 102, Air then enters tank 10 bypassing between filler neck 50 and securing flange 90 through a filtermedium 118, apertures 88, about the outer rim of gasket 100, throughapertures 120 in gasket support 98 between peripheral indentations 96 incap rim 94, and through opening 104 about valve member 106.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the tank provided bythis invention is well adapted to retain fuel under pressure and yet toassure a continuous supply of fuel adjacent the fuel pump inlet.

We claim:

I. A fuel tank for a vehicle having a centerline extending in thegeneral direction of vehicle travel, said fuel tank comprising acylindrical housing having a longitudinal axis extending transversely ofsaid vehicle centerline, outwardly convex end caps closing each end ofsaid housing and having peripheral rims secured to said housing andextending longitudinally outwardly of said tank, a pair of bafflesdisposed within said tank generally parallel to said end caps forrestricting fuel surging longitudinally within said tank, said bafflesbeing disposed on opposite sides of said vehicle centerline and beingoutwardly convex with respect thereto, said baffles having peripheralrims secured to said housing and extending longitudinally outwardly ofsaid tanks with respect to said vehicle centerline, a filler pipeextending through one of said end caps and one of said baffles andhaving a sole discharge opening disposed adjacent said vehiclecenterline, means for receiving a fuel pump inlet member in the centercompartment defined between said baffles, and an open-ended pipeextending from the end compartment defined between one of said end capsand the adjacent baffle to the end compartment defined between the otherof said end caps and the other baffle, said pipe having a lateralopening disposed adjacent said fuel pump inlet member, said baffleshaving apertures therethrough in the upper portion of said tank topermit fluid flow between said compartments, said pipe providing thesole fuel passageway between said compartments in the lower portion ofsaid tank whereby liquid fuel may be transferred from said endcompartments to said center compartment directly adjacent said fuel pumpinlet member when only said lower portion of said fuel tank containsliquid fuel.

2. The fuel tank of claim 1 wherein said housing has a pressure reliefopening in the uppermost portion of said tank adjacent said vehiclecenterline and which further comprises a pressure relief valvecontrolling said opening to discharge fluid from said tank when apredetermined pressure in said tank is exceeded.

3. The fuel tank of claim 1 which further comprises a cap on said fillerpipe adapted to seal said filler pipe against fluid loss from said tankduring normal operation of said vehicle and further adapted to relievesuperatmospheric pressure in said tank during removal of said cap fromsaid filier pipe and prior to complete removal of said cap from saidfiller pipe.

4. A vehicle fuel tank comprising a housing having a pair of endportions and defining an enclosure therewithin, a pair of bafflesdisposed within said tank generally parallel to said end portions forrestricting fuel surging longitudinally within said tank, said bafflesdividing said enclosure into a first end compartment defined between oneof said baffles and one of said end portions, a center compartmentdefined between said baffles, and a second end compartment definedbetween the other of said baffles and the other of said end portions;means for receiving a fuel pump inlet member in said center compartment,and an open-ended pipe extending from said first end compartment to saidsecond end compartment, said pipe having a lateral opening disposedadjacent said fuel pump inlet member, said baffles having aperturestherethrough in the upper portion of said tank to permit fluid flowbetween said compartments, said pipe providing the sole fuel passagewaybetween said compartments in the lower portion of said tank wherebyliquid fuel may be transferred from said end compartments to said centercompartment directly adjacent said fuel pump inlet member when only saidlower portion of said fuel tank contains liquid fuel.

1. A fuel tank for a vehicle having a centerline extending in thegeneral direction of vehicle travel, said fuel tank comprising acylindrical housing having a longitudinal axis extending transversely ofsaid vehicle centerline, outwardly convex end caps closing each end ofsaid housing and having peripheral rims secured to said housing andextending longitudinally outwardly of said tank, a pair of bafflesdisposed within said tank generally parallel to said end caps forrestricting fuel surging longitudinally within said tank, said bafflesbeing disposed on opposite sides of said vehicle centerline and beingoutwardly convex with respect thereto, said baffles having peripheralrims secured to said housing and extending longitudinally outwardly ofsaid tanks with respect to said vehicle centerline, a filler pipeextending through one of said end caps and one of said baffles andhaving a sole discharge opening disposed adjacent said vehiclecenterline, means for receiving a fuel pump inlet member in the centercompartment defined between said baffles, and an open-ended pipeextending from the end compartment defined between one of said end capsand the adjacent baffle to the end compartment defined between the otherof said end caps and the other baffle, said pipe having a lateralopening disposed adjacent said fuel pump inlet member, said baffleshaving apertures therethrough in the upper portion of said tank topermit fluid flow between said compartments, said pipe providing thesole fuel passageway between said compartments in the lower portion ofsaid tank whereby liquid fuel may be transferred from said endcompartments to said center compartment directly adjacent said fuel pumpinlet member when only said lower portion of said fuel tank containsliquid fuel.
 2. The fuel tank of claim 1 wherein said housing has apressure relief opening in the uppermost portion of said tank adjacentsaid vehicle centerline and which further comprises a pressure reliefvalve controlling said opening to discharge fluid from said tank when apredetermined pressure in said tank is exceeded.
 3. The fuel tank ofclaim 1 which further comprises a cap on said filler pipe adapted toseal said filler pipe against fluid loss from said tank during normaloperation of said vehicle and further adapted to relievesuperatmospheric pressure in said tank during removal of said cap fromsaid filler pipe and prior to complete removal of said cap from saidfiller pipe.
 4. A vehicle fuel tank comprising a housing having a pairof end portions and defining an enclosure therewithin, a pair of bafflesdisposed within said tank generally parallel to said end portions forrestricting fuel surging longitudinally within said tank, said bafflesdividing said enclosure into a first end compartment defined between oneof said baffles and one of said end portions, a center compartmentdefined between said baffles, and a second end compartment definedbetween the other of said baffles and the other of said end portions;means for receiving a fuel pump inlet member in said center compartment,and an open-ended pipe extending from said first end compartment to saidsecond end compartment, said pipe having a lateral opening disposedadjacent said fuel pump inlet member, said baffles having aperturestherethrough in the upper portion of said tank to permit fluid flowbetween said compartments, said pipe providing the sole fuel passagewaybetween said compartments in the lower portion of said tank wherebyliquid fuel may be transferred from said end compartments to said centercompartment directly adjacent said fuel pump inlet member when only saidlower portion of said fuel tank contains liquid fuel.